Ch.140Chapter 140

Wendigo clicked his tongue as he looked at the letter burning brightly in the fireplace.

He had expected some kind of major rebellion to occur at some point, but who could have predicted the timing would be this bad?

‘Dario probably didn’t get caught because of a slip of the tongue.’

If nothing else, that guy was the best at reading the atmosphere and exploiting others’ weaknesses with his silver tongue.

Of course, someone with superior insight and cold judgment might have manipulated Dario, but…

‘If they were that capable, why would they provoke me so blatantly?’

While Wendigo’s authority was partly due to his exceptional combat prowess, ultimately the greatest source of his authority was the fertile land that served as the northern region’s lifeline.

Wasn’t he the one who gave hope to the northerners—who used to tremble with hunger, begrudging even the food that went into their children’s mouths—that they wouldn’t starve if they worked hard?

Provoking Wendigo was tantamount to giving up the food supply flowing from the End of the World. If someone smarter than Dario had planned this, they would have considered that…

‘No matter how ignorant they might be, they must know how insane it is to take away someone’s food bowl.’

In the past, northerners might have been satisfied with just two meals a day. They had to save as much as possible during warm weather to survive the harsh winter.

But as Manheimr’s fertile lands expanded into more cultivated areas, the northerners had awakened to the happiness of eating well.

If someone forced them to eat only two meals when they could enjoy three delicious ones, would even serfs obey such an order?

It was obvious that if this continued even briefly, the serfs would grab the armor and swords hidden in their homes and cut off the heads of their superiors. It wouldn’t be strange, considering how common it was in the past to raid neighboring tribes due to hunger.

No matter how he thought about it, provoking him so abruptly in the current situation was clearly madness.

“Hmm.”

Wendigo tapped the armrest with his fingernails as he fell into thought. Why had they captured Dario who had gone to negotiate in the first place?

Thinking about it, it was strange. Logically, harming an envoy who came for negotiations was tantamount to a declaration of war, beyond mere provocation.

If Dario had visited a single tribe or family, it would have been understandable. When power is concentrated in one person, it’s relatively common for a madman to run wild and cause problems.

But they were a coalition of chieftains and nobles with grievances. A coalition sounds nice, but it’s no different from a beast with multiple heads.

Thanks to that, they could continue functioning even if one head fell, but the problem was that each head harbored different thoughts.

Wendigo recalled the Northern Alliance from the past and increased the speed of his fingernails tapping on the armrest. The more he thought, the deeper his doubts grew.

‘Even when heroes gather, there’s usually at least one who harbors anxiety. Especially those with much to lose if plans go awry…’

Wendigo recalled the style and content of the letter. The uniquely mocking yet respectful tone of Dario and the handwriting strongly suggested that Dario himself had written the letter.

Why would people with so much to lose willingly entrust a letter to Dario?

‘The confidence to entrust a letter to an enemy, and the indifference about having their food supply cut off…’

Geron had said that the tribes Dario visited had joined hands with the Empire. But merely joining hands wouldn’t be enough for this level of recklessness.

For them to act this rashly, at the very least…

“It seems they’re not just allies, but have become their backbone.”

Crack!

Unable to contain his displeasure, Wendigo clenched his fist and muttered in an irritated voice, his nails digging into the throne, leaving hideous scars.

The attendants waiting outside the door were startled by the sound of something breaking and hastily addressed Wendigo.

“Y-Your Majesty, if something is troubling you, please tell us.”

“Yes, if our inadequate service has disturbed Your Majesty’s mood, please…”

“I apologize. It’s not your fault, so don’t worry. Instead, bring Skadi and Geron to me.”

Having calmed his anger, Wendigo sank into his throne and ordered the attendants. He sighed deeply and rested his chin on his hand.

He had thought this would end as a simple matter of internal discipline, but he had a feeling things were going to get troublesome.

And usually, such premonitions tended to be accurate.

* * *

Skadi and Geron, summoned by Wendigo, rushed to see him at once.

They had anticipated problems from the moment Dario didn’t return and a letter bearing his seal was delivered instead.

As the audience chamber doors opened, Skadi and Geron knelt according to protocol…

“There are no prying eyes here, so let’s skip such formalities.”

Wendigo waved his hand, urging Skadi and Geron to rise quickly. He didn’t want to receive formal greetings from the two who were like family to him.

Skadi was about to rise with a smile when… Geron, with a stern expression, offered sincere counsel to Wendigo.

“Your Majesty, perhaps in the past it was different, but now you are king. Isn’t it time you accepted such formalities as natural? If this habit emerges when other subjects are watching, your authority—”

Flinch!

Since Geron’s words weren’t wrong, Skadi paused mid-rise and looked around cautiously. Fortunately, Geron was too busy giving advice—or rather, counsel—to Wendigo to notice Skadi’s movement.

As she quietly lowered herself back down, Wendigo responded to Geron’s counsel in a calm voice.

“I know your words are right, but what use is it if I cannot treat my own people comfortably?”

“But…”

Knowing that Wendigo cared for him, Geron couldn’t bring himself to speak harshly against the king’s friendly attitude.

How could he say bitter words when his lord truly thought of them as family?

As Geron hesitated, Wendigo’s eyes gleamed as he delivered the final blow.

“If I make a mistake later, I’ll take a beating for it. But while we’re talking like this, who knows if Dario is suffering down south? For his sake, let’s move on.”

“Hmm…”

When Wendigo mentioned Dario’s well-being, Geron let out a troubled sigh.

Though Geron typically executed his duties with cool-headed efficiency, at his core he was simply a kind-hearted middle-aged man.

Risking a young person’s life—especially someone close to them—was poison to someone as good-natured as Geron.

Finally yielding to Wendigo’s persuasion, Geron sighed and rose from his knees.

“Sigh… It seems you’ve learned something bad from Dario.”

“A good teacher never has a bad student. As proof, look at how well I’m doing after receiving guidance from you and Skadi.”

“Hehehe…”

Pleased by Wendigo’s words, Skadi rose with a bright smile blooming on her face.

She had been somewhat depressed while they were apart, but Wendigo’s praise warmed her heart.

Geron wasn’t much different, as he secretly hid a small smile while rising and approaching Wendigo.

Wendigo shared his suspicions with them without holding anything back. Both their expressions darkened at the suggestion that the Empire might be involved.

After revealing all his thoughts, Wendigo first addressed Dario’s safety.

“First, it seems Dario has been detained. In the worst case… he might have breathed his last.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad. If Dario is alive, they can shift the responsibility for the provocation to him.”

“I agree with Lady Skadi. Besides, the Kaffustin family belongs to Dencan’s children, so they would have limited it to detention for the sake of family honor.”

Both approached the problem optimistically. Of course, they inwardly acknowledged that their words might not reflect reality.

After all, arbitrarily detaining an envoy was something one did only when unwilling to negotiate with the other party, or when confident of having the upper hand.

Neither had any reason to protect Dario’s well-being, so in the worst case…

“If such a thing has happened, I’ll have to hold a memorial service for Dario with their corpses.”

As Wendigo expressed his cold anger, Geron and Skadi nodded in agreement. Whatever else, they could not forgive anyone who harmed a member of Manheimr.

While Wendigo contained his anger, Geron found another point of doubt in Dario’s letter.

“There was a message in Dario’s letter asking to meet in person, but I don’t think they wrote this letter hoping for an invitation.”

“Then… do they want Wendigo to leave the forest? Or…”

Something occurred to Skadi and Geron, and they looked at Wendigo. Feeling their gaze, Wendigo soon realized what they were thinking.

“What they really want might not be to meet me… but to test whether I can leave the forest.”

“But that’s strange. Only a select few besides us know the secret that Your Majesty cannot leave the forest. Surely Dario wouldn’t…”

“It’s not impossible… but it’s unlike Dario to say something that would disadvantage himself.”

When Geron expressed doubt, Wendigo shook his head.

It didn’t seem like Dario would make such a bad move when his own life might be endangered if Wendigo’s influence weakened.

Rather, Wendigo thought this secret had been kept longer than expected. After all, all of his exploits had occurred within the forest, hadn’t they?

“Whether it’s a summoner, a god, or a djin, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone discovered my weakness. The problem is that they seem to be targeting this…”

“Perhaps… as Lady Skadi suggested, this might be why they made Dario write the letter.”

“Hmm?”

As Wendigo looked puzzled, Geron explained his thoughts with a serious expression.

“I think they’re trying to confirm whether Your Majesty truly cannot leave the forest. They used Dario’s name and seal so they could shift responsibility if their expectations were wrong.”

“And if they confirm it?”

“I think… they plan to spread rumors throughout the north. Regrettably, Your Majesty hasn’t received oaths of loyalty from all the chieftains of Manheimr…”

“So those dissatisfied with serving a suddenly-appeared king might cause trouble.”

It wasn’t an implausible scenario—there was a reason kings went on royal progresses to meet local power holders.

If the king didn’t personally demonstrate his majesty and authority, some might harbor rebellious thoughts, so royal progresses served as preventive measures.

No matter how much Wendigo had accomplished, the fact that he couldn’t use his direct power outside the forest would be like throwing fuel on the fire for those harboring discontent…

“There are certainly limitations to moving around as a projection. No matter how much mystical power I infuse, a projection never quite feels alive…”

“Um… Wendigo?”

“Yes?”

Skadi cautiously raised her hand while reading the atmosphere and called to Wendigo. Naturally, Wendigo’s gaze turned to Skadi… but her condition seemed a bit strange.

Her face was as red as a ripe tomato, and her mouth wore an awkward smile as if trying to endure embarrassment.

Wendigo asked her curiously.

“Skadi, have you thought of a good solution?”

“W-well…”

Meeting Wendigo’s eyes, Skadi fidgeted with her fingers while glancing at him, then squeezed her eyes shut. She gathered her courage and blurted out:

“I-I have a good method!”

“?”

Wendigo brightened at the mention of a good method but tilted his head in confusion.

What kind of method could make her so embarrassed?

“F-first, would you follow me?”

Whatever was making her so embarrassed, Skadi didn’t wait for an answer before opening the audience chamber door and heading outside. Wendigo and Geron quickly followed after her.

* * *

When Skadi became the university’s chancellor, her cottage was naturally absorbed into the university. It would have been inefficient to separate her spaces when she had to handle both chancellor and summoner duties.

Thus, her office-cum-laboratory became as large as the university’s biggest lecture hall…

Yet not a single person—neither university staff nor students—had ever visited her office.

Naturally, people created countless rumors about her office.

Some said her summoning magic had reached the heavens, creating a space where past, present, and future intertwined.

Others claimed she was developing sinister magic with the king’s permission, using virgins and chaste men for her experiments.

Some even suggested that Skadi wasn’t the Witch of the Forest but the Goddess of the Forest, and that His Majesty was actually one of her physical manifestations…

All were baseless speculations without evidence, but people were certain of one thing:

The chancellor’s office definitely contained something she couldn’t show to others!

And people’s suspicions weren’t wrong.

Wendigo and Geron, visiting Skadi’s office for the first time, saw “it” and couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“What’s this?”

“My goodness…”

“Uuugh… I’m so embarrassed.”

Skadi covered her face with both hands, seemingly wanting to crawl into a hole from embarrassment.

The thing she had been working on so diligently, never allowing anyone to enter her office, was…

“It’s amazingly lifelike. The size seems exactly the same as mine too.”

“Remarkable. It truly looks like there are two of Your Majesty.”

An incredibly detailed statue of Wendigo. Not just any statue, but a life-sized one with no compromises, reproducing every detail down to his moles.

‘Why did I have to add that too…’

If only that part hadn’t been included, it would have been less embarrassing!!!

Skadi regretted her past self who had put her heart and soul into perfectly recreating Wendigo.